Meadowlark Press, LLC

 Now Available From Meadowlark Press:

On the Other Side of the Ashes by Dmitry Blizniuk translated by Sergey Gerasimov

Ukrainian poet Dmitry Blizniuk faces war every day. These are the defining moments of war–trembling walls, the “silence between / two artillery shells,” dirty faces of kids, an understanding that any moment could be the last, whole cities in despair. This book and all of its gruesome, sad, and sentimental realities offer an understanding of the present-day lives of the Ukrainian people. Dmitry Blizniuk, who resides in Kharkov, is a messenger and an ambassador and, amid the destruction, beholds small beauties, such as “sunlight . . . growing through an apple tree.” Using both the original Ukrainian and the English translation, this book serves as a bridge between those who are on the inside and those who are not.

sample poems by Dmitry Blizniuk Don’t Ask Me for Whom Don’t ask me for whom this bell tolls, don’t ask me. This bell tolls for itself. The bell, like a baby giraffe, has gotten lost in the terrible concrete forest of destroyed homes, schools, and hospitals. Of wrecked tanks and burned down cars. Sirens wail, pulsing like an aching tooth. It’s a new morning in the earth paradise. Another morning. Good morning to everyone. My Wife Hangs Winter Clothing in the Closet my wife hangs winter clothing in the closet I ask myself if I am ever going to put them on again or should I say goodbye to the seasons of the year, to the parka, to the woolen sweater forever? those clothes remember the war, they’ve absorbed its horror like hair absorbs the smell of cigarettes. they’ll never forget. the destroyed world is irreversible.

Dmitry Blizniuk

Sergey Gerasimov, translator

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